one question to ask

[Guest guest]

I have one question to ask.

 

Does eating of meat in any way preclude the

obtainment of siddhi

or is any any way harmful to a household? What about cases where some

individuals in a house are vegetarian and some not?

[theist]

Another way to see the question might be to ask, "Is developing the quality of compassion important in the pursuit ofperfecting oneself?"

 

 

[Guest guest]

one of the key things in devotional life is honoring prasadam. to live we have to eat and to eat we have to kill plants and animals. as a result eating itself is a very sinful activity. but we can overcome this sin by offering the food to god. krishna delights taking nice delicacies made from milk, grains, fruits and vegetables. there are wonderful food items that one can make like puris, kachodis, pakodas, sambar, dosai, rasam, idlis, pizzas, sweet rice and the list is endless. by eating wonderful prasadam one develops a very elevated consciousness. this is such a wonderful process. as krishna does not accept animal food or intoxication, we cant offer that to Him. It is His mercy because if we eat such foods we will become tamasic. then our ability to understand spiritual subject matters will be greatly limited. also to get rid of the sin of killing animals, we will have to take birth again and again as animals that will be slaughtered. it is so horriblwe. it is the mercy of the great devotees like srila prabhupada that this understanding is given to so many people around the world. thanks to caitanya mahaprabhu's sankirtan movement, we are able to come out of this kind of hellish life.

 

but it is not so easy because our family members may be non-vegetarians and we ourselves might have taken non-vegetarian food in the past. as they are our family members we have to adjust and respect their opinion also. we cannot renounce them without sufficient spiritual understanding. the best is to respect their opinion and understand that their time for giving up meat eating has not come yet. but they should also not affect your practice. even though they are important in life, they will not come with us when we die. so if they cause hindrance to your spiritual practice, then you should be firm and resist it. but if you stay compassionate for their ignorance and pray to Krishna sincerely, then He will improve the situation for you. This will also help you build more faith in the Lord by practical experience. Intensify your goal of attaining Krishna and I am sure He will bestow you with all the necessary atmosphere to worship Him.